Webflow vs WordPress, from a designer’s point of view
One is a subscription that includes the hosting. The other is free software you run yourself, or a paid service with the same name.
Every figure read off both vendors’ own pages on
The short answer.
Pick WordPress if the site is a publication, needs a specific plugin, or has to be owned outright on hosting you control. Pick Webflow if the design is the point and you would rather not maintain anything.
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Pick Webflow if
The design is the point. A class-based style system, built visually, gives you the layout you drew rather than a theme's.
You do not want to run a server. Webflow hosts it and there is nothing to update.
You are coming from Figma. The free Webflow Labs app syncs components, variables and styles, and WordPress has no Figma route at all.
The site is six pages, not six hundred. For a portfolio with no content model, most of WordPress's publishing machinery is overhead.
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Pick WordPress if
The site is a publication. Posts, pages, taxonomies, revisions, scheduled publishing and multiple authors come out of the box, unlimited.
You want to own it outright. WordPress.org is free, open-source software on hosting you control, so no vendor can change the terms.
The site needs a specific thing. Over 50,000 plugins, on every paid WordPress.com plan and unrestricted when self-hosted.
Someone else will maintain it. More people can pick up a WordPress site than any other platform here.
Side by side.
Neither column is ours. Every WordPress cell says whether it means the free software or the hosted service, because one answer would be wrong for one of them.
| Feature | Webflow | WordPress |
|---|---|---|
| What you are actually buying | A hosted product with a subscription. One company runs the editor and the hosting | Either free open-source software you host yourself (WordPress.org), or Automattic's hosted service (WordPress.com). They are not the same product |
| Is it free | There is a free Starter plan that publishes to a webflow.io subdomain with a badge | The software is free and open source. Running it is not: you supply hosting, a domain, PHP 8.3 or greater and MySQL 8.0 or MariaDB 10.11 or greater |
| Free plan publishes a public site | Yes, to a webflow.io subdomain with a badge. 2 static pages, no custom domain | On WordPress.com, yes: a WordPress.com subdomain with 1 GB storage and WordPress.com ads. No custom domain, no plugins, no custom themes |
| Cheapest plan that publishes to your own domain | $15/mo billed yearly, $25 monthly, per site | On WordPress.com, EUR 4/mo billed annually on Personal: EU price sheet. Self-hosted, whatever your host charges |
| CMS on the cheapest paid plan | No. Basic explicitly excludes CMS and e-commerce | Yes. Posts, pages, taxonomies, revisions and scheduled publishing are the product, on every tier and in the free software |
| CMS ceiling | 40 collections and 20,000 items on Premium | Unlimited posts and pages. Self-hosted, whatever the database will carry |
| Plugins and extensions | Apps and custom code, not broken out per tier on the pricing page | Over 50,000 plugins, on every paid WordPress.com plan from Personal up. Unrestricted when self-hosted |
| Server access | None: the hosting is Webflow's | SFTP and SSH on WordPress.com Business and Commerce only. Full access when self-hosted |
| Design control | A class-based style system with breakpoints, built visually | Comes from the theme. Matching an approved design means finding a close theme or building one |
| Figma import | Yes. A free two-part Webflow Labs app syncs components, variables and styles | None. A Figma file is a specification rather than a starting point |
| Code export | Yes, on a paid Workspace at Core tier or above | Self-hosted, the whole install is yours already: files, theme and database |
| Who maintains it | Webflow. Nothing to update | On WordPress.com, Automattic. Self-hosted, you: core, themes and plugins all update on their own schedules |
| Selling | Not on Basic: e-commerce features are excluded | WooCommerce on WordPress.com Commerce, EUR 45/mo billed annually on the EU sheet, with no transaction fees. A plugin when self-hosted |
| Last plan change | 13 May 2026: CMS and Business merged into Premium, Team plan added | Not announced on any WordPress.com page we can read |
Webflow and WordPress details checked on 2026-09-04 against webflow.com, wordpress.org, wordpress.com. Prices change; tell us if a cell is out of date.
What each one charges.
The WordPress sheet covers the free software and the hosted service, the two things you might be buying. Self-hosting costs are your host’s, so there is no figure for them.
Webflow site plans
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Starter
Free
Publishes to a webflow.io subdomain with the Made in Webflow badge. 2 static pages, 50 CMS items, 1,000 monthly visits. No custom domain.
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Basic Entry plan
$15 per site, billed yearly · $25 monthly
Custom domain and 300 static pages, but explicitly no CMS and no e-commerce features.
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Premium
$25 per site, billed yearly · $39 monthly
The old CMS and Business plans merged. 40 CMS collections and 20,000 items.
Read off Webflow's pricing page on 2026-09-03. Prices change; tell us if one is out of date.
WordPress, both of them
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WordPress.org
Free
Free and open source, self-hosted. You supply hosting, a domain, PHP 8.3 or greater and MySQL 8.0 or MariaDB 10.11 or greater. The bill is your host's, not WordPress's.
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WordPress.com Free
Free
A WordPress.com subdomain, 1 GB storage, unlimited pages and posts, 7 days of stats. No custom domain, no plugins, no custom themes, and WordPress.com ads are shown.
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WordPress.com Personal to Commerce Entry plan
EUR 4 to 45 per month billed annually, EU price sheet
Personal at EUR 4 removes the ads, adds a custom domain free for the first year and allows plugins. Business at EUR 25 is the first tier with SFTP and SSH. Commerce at EUR 45 adds WooCommerce with no transaction fees.
Read off WordPress.com's pricing page on 2026-09-04. Prices change; tell us if one is out of date.
What actually decides it.
One of these is a product you rent. The other is a system you take responsibility for.
First, fix which WordPress
WordPress.org is the software: free, open source, and hosted by you on PHP 8.3 or greater and MySQL 8.0 or MariaDB 10.11 or greater. WordPress.com is Automattic’s hosted service, with a free tier and Personal, Premium, Business and Commerce plans that run EUR 4 to EUR 45 a month billed annually, read from Europe.
On WordPress.com, plugins come with every paid plan, from Personal up. SFTP and SSH start at Business, EUR 25 a month billed annually.
Free software is not a free website
A running WordPress site needs hosting, a domain, a PHP runtime and a database, plus the updates and backups. So the real comparison is Webflow’s $15 a month against a hosting bill plus your own time.
What that buys is something nothing else here offers. Nobody can raise the price on software you already have, change its terms or wind it down.
WordPress wins the CMS by a distance
Webflow’s Basic has no CMS, and Premium at $25 a month billed yearly carries 40 collections and 20,000 items. WordPress gives you posts, pages, taxonomies, revisions, scheduled publishing and multiple authors, unlimited, on every tier including the free software.
Webflow wins the design by as much
In Webflow, what you build is what you drew, breakpoints included. On WordPress the layout comes from a theme, and matching an approved design is development work with no Figma import to shorten it.
Frequently asked.
What is WordPress?
Two things with one name. WordPress.org is free, open-source publishing software you install on your own hosting, and WordPress.com is Automattic’s hosted service, which runs that software for you on its own plan ladder.
Is WordPress free?
The software is: WordPress.org has no license to buy, but you supply the hosting, domain and database and carry the updates. WordPress.com’s free tier publishes to its subdomain with ads, with no custom domain, no plugins and no custom themes.
Is Webflow better than WordPress?
For design control, for a site you do not want to maintain, and for anything coming out of Figma, yes. For a publication, a site that needs a specific plugin, or one you want to own outright, no.
Why choose Webflow over WordPress?
Because the layout is built visually rather than inherited from a theme, and there is nothing to update. It also has a Figma path, the free Webflow Labs app, where WordPress has none.
How do I migrate from WordPress to Webflow?
There is no one-click route: export the content, rebuild the design in Webflow, map the content into Webflow collections and set up redirects. Budget for the redirect map, because that is where the traffic is lost.
How do I migrate a WordPress blog to the Webflow CMS?
You need Premium at $25 a month billed yearly, because Basic has no CMS to import into. Then export the posts, shape them into a collection with matching fields, and import.
Where Siter.io fits.
We make Siter.io, so this is the one section about us.
Siter.io is a much smaller builder for designed pages with nothing to publish or maintain: you design on its own canvas, one layout per breakpoint, or import a Figma frame. It publishes free at name.getsiter.com or on your own domain from $7/mo billed yearly, priced per plan: Plus at $12 a month publishes 3 sites.
It has gaps, and this page shows them most: no CMS, no e-commerce (listed as upcoming, with no date), no full-site code export, and each breakpoint’s layout is positioned by hand. The Free plan publishes one website of up to 3 pages with our badge, and a custom domain needs a paid plan.
If there is a blog, an editorial calendar or a plugin you depend on, pick one of the two above. Our Webflow comparison sets out the same trade against the other column.
More honest comparisons
- Framer vs Lovable Designing a site against prompting one.
- Cargo vs Squarespace Two takes on the art and design portfolio.
- Wix vs Squarespace The closest pairing we compare, and neither one lets you leave with the design.
- Figma to Webflow, properly The official app, its three conditions, and what it will not do for you.
- Personal website examples What the good ones have in common, and the patterns worth copying.
- Website examples Layout patterns for portfolios, one-pagers and small studio sites.
Also useful: Webflow vs Wix and what website hosting actually costs.
A third option,
if neither fits.
If the site is designed pages you already have in Figma and there is nothing to publish or maintain, Siter.io puts them online.